North Sound Stories

SnoCo Drug Users Will Walk Free if Caught with Less Than 2 Grams

Bonnie Johnson - Friday, March 02, 2018

Drug Users Caught With Less Than 2 Grams Will Not be Prosecuted

Just last week, the King County Prosecutors office announced they will be dropping over fifteen-hundred misdemeanor cases, citing staffing shortages.
Now, Snohomish County Prosecutor Mike Roe has announced that that users caught with less than two grams of any drug will not face criminal charges,
for very similar reasons. Even methamphetamine, even though the possession of any amount is a felony.

“In 2017 our felony division, with no additional personnel, filed 700 more cases into Superior Court than in 2016. That resulted in caseloads far beyond
what our trial deputies can handle effectively. Additionally, when we file more cases our county public defenders, because of the reasonable caseload
standards adopted by the Supreme Court, get more attorneys. We do not. We just get further and further behind.”

The goal is to spend more time focusing on higher crimes like assaults, DUIs, property crimes, and burglaries. The only way that persons can be charged
for carrying less than two grams is if it’s in relation to a higher crime, such as those previously listed. It’s also important to note that drug
traffickers or dealers can be charged with those higher crimes if there’s sufficient evidence to do so. Roe’s statement poses that by allowing
users with less than two grams to walk without facing prosecution, their office and resources can be better aligned towards aggressively tackling
higher crimes.

The PAO office argues that citing addicts for simply being addicts isn’t helpful to them, is certainly not to our judicial systems, and that addiction
issues will be handled by social services and public health industries. If the current model had been helpful in curbing addiction, recidivism
would not be such an issue.

They go on to point out that “successful” claims, i.e., when the cited individuals go to jail, pay their fines, and go through probationary periods
without violations, are not true successes. Success for an addict is ending an addiction, essentially.

Here is the full statement from the PAO:

In 2017 our felony division, with no additional personnel, filed 700 more cases into Superior Court than in 2016. That resulted in caseloads far beyond
what our trial deputies can handle effectively. Additionally, when we file more cases our county public defenders, because of the reasonable caseload
standards adopted by the Supreme Court, get more attorneys. We do not. We just get further and further behind.

In many counties across the state, if not most, drug possession cases involving a small amount, even though a felony by law, are commonly handled as
misdemeanors. Small fines were imposed that were often not paid, and probation is ordered that is often not complied with. Courts are still understandably
reluctant to incarcerate addicts for possessing small amounts of drugs, and even if imposed, jail doesn’t seem to address an addiction problem.
Recidivism is near 100%. Addicts will seemingly address their addiction when they decide to, not when we try to force them to. Our office also
utilized this “Expedited Misdemeanor” process for many years on these cases, but with negligible effect. Even our “successes” were usually failures,
as re-offense was more the rule than the exception.

In short, a prosecutorial response to minor possession cases has apparently done little if anything to curb drug use. What we have been doing on these
cases hasn’t been working. What it was doing however, was preventing our deputies from being able to concentrate more fully on Burglaries, Robberies,
DUIs, assaults, and the myriad property crimes drug users commit, because we were too busy dutifully charging them, essentially for being addicts
in the first place. I have decided to temporarily try letting social service and public health industries try to tackle this social and health
problem, and on cases below 2 grams, getting out of their way. I am also hopeful that Sheriff Trenary’s proposed pilot project diversion center
has positive results for these people; but what we have done hasn’t.

If other crime actually gets worse, which I highly doubt it will, we will try something else or otherwise reconsider. We historically modify our standards
often to reflect our priorities and resources. Under 2 grams of drugs has typically been a low priority criminal case, and at this point is beyond
those resources. I learned today that King County is taking similar action on 1500 misdemeanor cases, for essentially the same reason we are taking
this step.

Criminal Justice currently consumes over 70% of county general fund resources, and we are constantly reminded of that. It has been made very clear,
through this year’s budget process that failed to utilize a property tax increase already approved by voters, that more resources for our office
were not going to be forthcoming. It is my job to utilize the resources granted as effectively and efficiently as possible, and live within my
means. This charging adjustment is part of that. Something had to give. As we told law enforcement, we will always consider making exceptions if
a particular case, in our opinion, does merit the expenditure of resources. This change does not apply to drug dealers or traffickers where we
have sufficient evidence to charge those higher crimes. In fact, this step will likely allow us to be even more aggressive on those cases.